Category: Email Recovery

An OST file is a replica of user mailboxes on Exchange Server, which is saved on the system. These files are known to have different errors or issues like “OST is in use and cannot be accessed”. If you are having these errors, you are at the right place. We will discuss it with some methods.

If Cached mode is turned on in your Microsoft Exchange server, it creates a replica of mailboxes and stores it in the system with .ost extension. Even if network is gone with Exchange Server, we can keep working with mails. There are various issues related to OST file corruption which could face ‘File is in use and cannot be accessed error.

Here are some of the methods to resolve the error “OST in Use and Cannot be accessed”

After detecting the error and knowing the reasons behind the same, this error can be fixed in next step. Here are some of the methods to help you know how to fix this OST error.

Close all Outlook based Processes

One of the best steps which can help you fix the errors related to inaccessible files is stopping the background process of MS Outlook. Here are the steps to do the task –

Close the MS Outlook properly.

Go to Task Manager by right clicking on Taskbar.

Choose the tab ‘Processes’

Search ‘Communicator’, ‘Lync’, ‘ucmapi’, or ‘Outlook’

If you choose any of them, choose process and click the button ‘End Task’.

Method 2 – Disable Cached Exchange Mode

You simply have to disable cached Exchange Mode with the following process in this method –

Open ‘Control Panel’ after selecting Outlook and choose ‘Mail’

Choose Email tab by clicking Email Accounts button

Click on ‘Change’ by choosing Email ID

Unselect Use Cached Exchange Mode > Next > Finish

Method 3 – Disable Outlook Add-ins

Add-ins are used to improve overall functionality of an application, whether it is Outlook or anything. A lot of faulty add-ins can make your application working weirdly. So, we need to disable such add-ins which can harm your Outlook or its files. Simply start Outlook in safe mode to disable those add-ins. Type Outlook/safe in Run command box in Windows. Click “Yes” if it asks “Do you want to start application in Safe Mode?”

Method 4 – Run Scanost.exe

This method is usually preferred to fix ‘OST file is in use. The file cannot be accessed” error to make OST file readable.

First of all, open Scanost.exe

Go to Mailbox>Select Repair Errors>Begin Scan

It will take few minutes to scan and fix the error in Repair process.

Be sure to use this method if you have Outlook 2007.

Method 5 – Using Professional Software

It is one of the most user-friendly, safe and recommended methods. You can quickly repair corrupt OST file with a professional tool. You can simply download OST Recovery Tool which is result-oriented and reliable tool. It can recover all your data from damaged or corrupt OST file. You can also save the data after recovery in another format like DBX, PST, EML, MBOX, and MSG.

Conclusion

You can easily use of these methods explained in this article after detecting the error with the cause. You need to fix the error ‘File Username.ost is in use and is inaccessible to keep working with emails. OST Recovery tool is the best choice for better and quick solution for OST to PST Conversion and to Open Corrupt OST file.

Deleting a folder or file intentionally or accidentally without knowing its usefulness is faced by most of us or we might face. It is not that easy to recover these files. In this post, we would tell you some free processes with which you can recover deleted files in Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2010.

If you delete any file or email from Outlook, the chances are high that you can recover it. At first, you need to look for your deleted files of MS Outlook in Trash or in Deleted Items. If you don’t find any of those files, you may find the files in the folder “Recoverable Items”. You can use the tool PST File Repair for easy access if you can’t access Recoverable Items folder.

Recover Deleted Items in Outlook 2016, Outlook 2010, or Outlook 2013

Here are the steps to recover Outlook files which are permanently deleted. First of all, you have to find out where your file is located –

Open MS Outlook.

Go to the list of your email folder and hover around “Deleted Items”

Browse and locate email that has been deleted accidentally. Once you find the email, right click and click “Move > Other Folder”

Recover Deleted Events, Appointments, Tasks and Contacts

Right click on the file under “Move > Other Folder > Contacts” to recover deleted contacts

Right click on the file under “Move > Other Folder > Tasks” if you want to recover Outlook tasks.

Here are the ways to recover deleted items in Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2010. These steps will help you recover items that are deleted permanently in Deleted Items folder. If you cannot find deleted item in the folder, you might want to go any other way to recover deleted files in Outlook.

This way, you can recover files from Server and you can restore deleted files in MS Outlook even though you have emptied deleted folder, deleted item from deleted folder accidentally or intentionally, or have removed file with Shift + Delete permanently.

Steps to restore deleted Outlook folders and files –

Open Outlook

Go to the list of email folders

Click “Deleted Items” and be sure “Home” is selected/clicked

Click “Recover Deleted Items from Server” on the top

Note – If “Recover Deleted Items from Server” is grayed out or doesn’t show up, you are offline. So, start over in online mode to make it work.

Browse and find the file and click “Restore Selected Items” and “OK”.

You can also recover all your contacts, emails, tasks, calendars, and other items from the server.

Where Recovered Items go after Restoration?

When your items are restored from “Recover Deleted Items from Server” option, they move to Deleted Items folder automatically. After this process, go to Deleted Items. You have to move such files in their folders. Keep in mind that all tasks, contacts, calendar, files, and appointments are also moved to the folder “Deleted Items”. To restore such files, you need to go through the same process as discussed above.

Tips and Tricks to Recover Deleted Outlook Files smoothly

You can sort and find specific file in your list of deleted by sorting out with Deleted On, Subject etc. Keep in mind that ‘Deleted On” data shows the date on which file has been deleted permanently from the system or from Deleted Items folder.

All mailbox items like tasks, contacts, calendars are displayed with same envelop icon.

If you are in search for email from a contact and you cannot locate the same, sort the list by “Subject” and look for email or name of person.

If you are searching for task or any appointment that you have deleted, sort the list by ‘Form’ column and look for your name.

With this technique, users can easily restore several files at one time. Click on each files and messages while holding “Ctrl” button. You can also restore several emails or files by clicking first item while holding Shift key and click final item in this list.

Sadly, if you cannot locate or see any specific file in the server, there are high chances that it has been deleted permanently. It cannot be restored with this technique.

Restore Files if Manual Techniques are not helpful

If these techniques are no longer helpful or you can not find your files on server, only way to recover deleted items in Outlook is by using a unique program named Outlook PST Recovery Tool. Even though you search for it, you can find plenty of tools to recover your PST files. If you are looking for the one, it is better to go with this Outlook PST Recovery Tool.

It is one of the most cutting-edge recovery tools in the market. It can’t just recover emails, but also helps users to recover deleted calendars, contacts, and tasks. In addition, it can easily recover of around 80GB. With this option, you can easily save recovered files in various formats like MSG, PST, EML, DBX, and MBOX.

Best thing is that it is very simple to understand and smooth GUI so even a non-technical user can use it with any technical experience. You can also download free trial version to check its effectiveness. You should always go for manual techniques to recover lost items. You can go for this tool only if it doesn’t work.

You can Download the Free Trial Version from here. Free version will show you all the preview of recoverable emails, which you can check by manual.

Microsoft Outlook is undoubtedly one of the most widely used email clients for both individuals and professionals. Being a very popular email application, it goes without saying that Outlook often makes users distressed when mailbox freezes or stops responding suddenly. There are several reasons why Outlook freezes or stops working. These reasons, in turn, cause a stressful situation for the users.

Some of the common reasons behind erratic behavior of MS Outlook and How to fix them–

Outdated Windows and MS Office

MS Outlook may also hang or freeze if user doesn’t install latest Windows updates or even MS Office. So, you have to change Windows Update settings by setting them to automatic to resolve this issue. It will automatically replace all the outdated files and fix the vulnerability on time.

Outlook is Currently Used on Other Process

Sometimes, Outlook doesn’t respond because it is being engaged in another process and the same information is being displayed on status bar. In that case, you have to wait for the task to complete in other process and mailbox is free.

Oversized User Mailbox

Oversized mailbox is another major cause why Outlook hangs or freezes constantly. Along with the number of resources to access various features, the size of mailbox is also subject to increase over time. In that case, mailbox freezes when it comes to access several features at the same time.

Unsupportable Add-ins

Sometimes, users install or download the add-ins which doesn’t work with MS Outlook smoothly. If the freezing issue takes place after installation of add-ins, it is better to use mailbox that doesn’t contain add-in. If this problem is fixed after you disable the add-in, it is better to use Outlook next time without add-ins.

Outdated Antivirus

A conflicting Antivirus program may also cause Outlook application to freeze all the time. So, it is vital to ensure that antivirus is up-to-date and can support the mailbox to ensure proper performance.

Corrupt PST File

It is, by far, the most common reason why Outlook crashes a lot. The unexpected and weird behavior of corrupt PST file can cause Outlook to freeze or hang. Microsoft understands that this issue may occur any time. So, it offers scanpst.exe, an Inbox Repair tool to deal with it. All you have to run scanpst.exe to scan all the PST files stored in the system.

To fix corrupted PST file, this tool needs multiple passes in most cases. So, you have to run this program again and again until it shows no error.

Sometimes, corruption issue is so stubborn that even this tool cannot fix it. In fact, it shows that it has not found any error. But you would still encounter problem after using it. In that case, you need to create a new file and transfer all the old PST items into new PST file. Close the old PST file after doing that and use the new PST file. You can also use it to scan and repair corrupt Offline Storage (OST) file.